The book of Deuteronomy describes God as king and reveals how his people are to live in covenant with him.
In my church, we have titled our series of sermons through this book of “The King and His Way”. This has proven to be an encouraging series for our people. Were the sermons really good or were people surprised to have something rich and relevant?in the book of Deuteronomy?that’s about to be seen.
- But I am convinced that the preaching of Deuteronomy will help you and your listeners motivate your hearts and educate your minds.
- Next.
- I’ll list three reasons for that.
Alliances were not uncommon in the ancient Near East. A typical alliance would look like this:? Salut, I’m your new king. I destroyed your whole army and killed your old king. Besides, I’ll be happy to kill anyone who opposes me. Oh, and by the way, here’s a treaty to let you know what the new rules are.
Deuteronomy reverses this common format. It is something like this: “I am the God who freed you from oppression and slavery. I have fought, fulfilled and will continue to keep my promises on your behalf. Here’s a treaty to make you known and remember my affection for you, as well as their responsibilities in this relationship. This is your new standard.
You can see this pattern in the first three chapters of Deuteronomy, in which Moses recalls God’s work for Israel. Does this review produce theological proposals in the following seven chapters?Where we realize that God’s unprecedented mercy is divided into two ways. remember that your relationship with God had little to do with current efforts (7. 7; 9. 6-8, 22?24) and all with God’s promise, made in the past, to the patriarchs (1. 8; 9. 5; 5. 15; 6,22-23).
As the Bible progresses in the New Testament, do we see that the Christian notion of redemption has nothing to do with a distant monarch demanding our obedience?On the contrary, Christian redemption occurs when God, the merciful ruler, acts on behalf of his people because he cannot fight for himself. Can we not stop thinking about Jesus, who did not come to be served, but to serve?life is a ransom for many.
Or consider Ephesians 5. 25-27, where Paul tells us that Christ loved his church and was pleased “for her. “He finds joy in his purity and attachment to himself. Far from legalism, away from despotism, this monarch loves his people more and better than anyone. Did you give them the freedom to live on the ground? And it teaches them to cultivate deep hatred and abandonment for their sins.
Why would you follow another king?
Deuteronomy highlights God’s absolute supremacy over the gods of nations (4. 35; 6. 4; 33. 26). There are not many deities as bold as the Lord. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob not only claims to have Israel as his own, but also positions himself as the leader of other peoples. We see him several times in Deuteronomy 2, when God claims to have given Moab and Ammon his land (2. 9).
Deuteronomy highlights God’s particular and absolute supremacy over Israel. It is the rock of Israel (32: 4, 15, 18, 30-31); it is a consumer presence, absolutely holy (4. 24; 9. 3; 33. 2). He is merciful, loving, and faithful; He is the creator of humanity, the ruler of all nations, the universal judge, and the sole controller of all creation. Although essentially different from creation, God is fully present and active. Only the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is the Father, the Redeemer, the Warrior, the Protector, the Supplier, the Restorer, and the Savior of all Israel. He hates and punishes sin and hates all who compete with him for the affection of his people.
Deuteronomy’s emphasis on God’s sovereignty must motivate our worship and commitment to intercultural missions. For Israel and today’s Christians, there are countless cultural competitors for the sovereign God. But if we look with the right eyes, we will uncover the huge gap between earthly rulers. with his political deities and the Lamb of God who was, is and comes.
As far as missions are concerned, God’s sovereignty offers us immense hope that the promise made to Abraham in Genesis 12 will result in the celebration we see in the Book of Revelation, where all nations, tribes, peoples, and languages sing and celebrate around the throne. . Lamb.
God asks His people to take seriously their inner compulsion to sin and their cultural impulse to idolatry. Israel’s main problem was that they were sinners “in the stomach. “Does Deuteronomy call them? A (1. 26, 43; 9. 7, 23-24; 21. 18, 20; 31. 27) Are they unbelievers?(1. 32; 9. 23; 28. 66) and hard-necked? (9,6, 13; 10,16; 31,27). These problems are profound and cannot be corrected with an external call to obedience by mere obligation. Instead, these people need an inner call to give themselves and trust in the one living God (4. 39; 6. 5-6; 8. 5; 10. 12-13, 16; 11,18; 26,16; 32,46).
Sincere love for God is the only appropriate response to the covenant (6:4-6), because only sincere love can serve as the basis for all obedience and worship. In Deuteronomy 6. 4-6, the central text of the book, often called ?Shema?? it is clear that God’s instruction, his “Torá”, was so central and precious to God’s people that it functioned as a natural topic of conversation, as a daily disciple between father and son.
Similarly, Deuteronomy cultivates a fear of God that is based on God’s goodness and power for Israel. Deuteronomy 8. 6-10 recalls God’s goodness to Israel by freeing them from Egypt, supported them in the wilderness, and took them to the promised land. says they should fear and obey (a common pair in Deuteronomy). What motivates this response? It is simply: God brought Israel to the good and abundant earth He promised them (8:7-9). He fulfilled his promise and the obedience of the people stems from this conviction of God’s goodness.
Deuteronomy also encourages God’s people to take themselves seriously. On more than one occasion, although Deuteronomy insists on the goodness of the covenant for all within Israel’s reach, the book emphasizes the serious responsibility that covenant members must have with one another. insistence on the care of poor brothers and sisters, who will always be among them (15:1-18).
From our point of view of the new alliance, it is necessary to understand that obedience to the alliance is motivated fundamentally by an internal change that occurs only through conversion, the grace of God drives us and shapes us from the inside out, we renounce old habits and adopt new ones, since we yearn for the return of Christ and remain jealous of good works (Titus 11-11). New Testament writers have understood this kind of mutual love as normal Christian behavior. Some would even reject the title of Christian to those who did not have this kind of love (1 John 2:9-11).
Goldsworthy examines the Bible, biblical theology, and preaching and shows how these three disciplines relate to the preparation of Christ-centered sermons, then applies the biblical theological method to the different types of literature found in the Bible, drawing their contribution to explanatory preaching. and focusing on the person and work of Christ.